Laptop updates

Vard

Looking for progress
Apple's Store online is currently busy...for all of you worried about the portable update....could this be it?
 
we'll know in a little while.... Appple store is indeed down so what new will be there when it comes up again???
 
For all my posts to the threads related to what Apple has been doing wrong lately, these upgrades are a clear sign of what is possible when Apple does something right.

Not only did they defy the skeptics who rumored that no Superdrive would make it in to the PBG4, they also brought the top end PBG4s to 1ghz, and upgraded the video to the Radeon 9000 w/ 64MB. While still only technically a speed bump, this is one of the best speed bumps Apple has ever given the portable line, not only because the bump is in the CPU, Video, and HD, but because the prices are less in most circumstances than the previous models were. I love that Apple is offering a CTO option on a 1ghz PBG4 without the Superdrive at $2799... This is huge...

Way to go Apple!
 
:eek:

These Powerbooks are absolutely great: faster and cheaper. This is a great move.

Exactly what I had been waiting for.

Now I will have to save to get me one!!
 
I just have to get the 12.1" iBook with 800mhz, 32mb videocard and 200 dollar less..sweeeet... well done apple!

No new lcd screens though...
 
It is going ....it has to go .

This update is amazing well done Apple .

I cant wait to get my hands on this new PB G4 1GHz with superdrive,
 
The top of the line Powerbook exceeds a reasonable person's expectations.

I'm not sure what else Apple could do to satisfy people right now. This is simply an incredible piece of hardware, and its $200 less than the previous iteration.

I just hope there aren't 'supply problems'. You know.

eshine
 
Well you could probably make some money selling heat sheilds to the owners of new PBs. Too bad asbestos isn't legal anymore.Perhaps one could use tiles similar to what is on the Space Shuttle.
 
Since the PowerBook G4 400, Apple has continually managed to make each PowerBook release run a little cooler despite the increase in MHz.

I have no reason to think that the 867 and GHz PowerBooks will run any warmer than the previous models.

My 667 DVI ran a lot cooler than my 550. A portion of the bottom of the laptop was made out of a different material and a peak under the keyboard revealed an entirely different heatsink and fan.

Apple is continually improving their products, have faith. :D
 
well put, itanium.

btw, although i'm still appreciating my TiBook 500 - after 1.8 years, that's the longest I've EVER enjoyed a computer after my Atari 1040 STf in 1988! - I have to tell you NOT to buy the first revision of a new form factor of Apple's computers. See this little history:

- First generation PowerPC PowerBooks, the 5300: It was actually performing very badly against the last 68040LC equipped notebook, the PowerBook 540c.

- First generation iBooks had 32 MB RAM on-board, which DEFINITELY was too low, even for Mac OS 8.6 (it came with that). Revision B solved that.

- First generation G3 towers: They were slower than the last generation G2 towers (PowerMacintosh 8600/300, PowerMacintosh 9600/350).

- TiBook 400/500: Too hot, too hot. And the graphics card sucked. Revision B solved both problems (a bit).

The best bet is to use a Halo model (last in line), although of course you can't guess very well whether the actual model is a Halo. ('Halo' was the term used for the last model of a certain line that already had much of the next model's technology inside. Or something like that.)
 
I have a new iBook 800 MHz in box right now!! :D

I'm trying to get some work done before I open it and waste the rest of my night basking in the goodness that is OS X. :p

I saw the 867 and GHz PowerBook G4s at the Apple store as well. They look the same on the outside other than the "PowerBook G4" written below the LCD is in a different font.

The 64 MB Radeon 9000 is awesome. I'd say the new PowerBook G4s are a gamers dream come true. Both the iBooks and the PowerBooks are very responsive with their speed bumped CPUs and GPUs. I would have loved to see 900 MHz iBooks but oh well.

With a $200 price cut across the line for both models, they have become a lot more competitive with PCs pricewise. The SuperDrive PowerBook G4 was an awesome move for this holiday season.

Apple definitely did good this time around. Hopefully more plesent surprises are to come. My only gripe is they need to be soldering at least 256 MB of RAM onto the iBooks motherboard. 128 MB just doesn't cut it. If anything, it would make OS X look a lot better out of the box.
 
fryke, I'm afraid I have to disagree. Most of those examples just show that hardware gets better over time.

One of them is a particularly special circumstance: the processor change, when ppc code was poorly optimized, even when you were lucky enough to have it at all. That's a far more drastic change than anything we're discussing here.

And one of them is very very different from my experiences: the assertion that the g3s were slower than g2s. My only question about the original g3 launch was why anyone would every buy anything other than the lowest-end model, given how incomprehensibly fast even those were. I still think of the original g3 release as being the peak of the ppc architecture, when its lead over competing systems was most dramatic.

I think nearly every mac I've owned has been the first model after a large upgrade, and I've been happy with every one of them: the first g4, the first quicksilver, the first g3, the first powerbook g3 series, and the powerbook 540 (you listed it as being the last of the previous line, which rather overlooks that it was also the first of that line, which I don't think ever saw any revisions).
 
I was also really impressed by the new stuff. I have been waiting to get an ibook for awhile, now it is slowly coming into view. I actually want the smallest one, for me space is an issue and I want it small and compact. That top of the line PB does look sweet though.
More than the laptops, I was sad to see that there weren't any new displays, or price cuts. I don't know much about the lcd market, but I am very tired of my huge crt, and yet still can't afford to drop a grand on a monitor. (ibook vs monitor). And since I have a 17inch crt, of course I can't go down in size on my main machine.

Now through work I can get a $500 dell, plus a 15inch lcd for $250 more. Not that that is any comparison, but why are other displays so much less (read: half the price of) Apple's?

What a rambling, whining, useless post this has been.
 
well i just online ordered an ibook

12.1" model
800mhz
128mb ram (soon 640)
30gb hd
32mb radeon 7500
airport
dvd/cdrw combo drive

i ordered an extra battery, as well as 512mb ram from a 3rd party

about 1650 bucks total...

so i got my g4 about 9 months ago... its

800mhz
896mb ram
60/40gb hds
32mb radeon 7500
cdrw drive
no airport

looks like my tower has competition ;)
 
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